So I'm a little concerned about a situation at daycare, and I think I need to talk to the director about it. This morning, A's teacher (in the infant room) was telling me and another mom that there is a woman who lives across the street from the daycare that has started harassing the staff, parents, and even the kids. During the day, they have to close their blinds in the infant room and the 2s because she's coming over and looking in the windows, taking pictures, and giving the finger to the staff and the kids! She sits on a chair in her front yard and stares into the windows. She harasses parents if they park their car in the street in front of her house (there is a parking lot at the daycare but it is small and fills up quickly). The teacher said that they're getting curtains for the classrooms, and during the day they keep the lights off so she can't see inside (I thought they were turning them off just for dimmer lighting to encourage sleep). I'm geniunely concerned about this woman's behavior and worried about the kids' safety! I'm pretty sure it's illegal for her to be taking pictures of the kids, and I think the police should be contacted, but it doesn't sound as if that's happened. At the very least, a letter should be sent to the parents making them aware that the school knows this is happening and that they are addressing it. To me, putting up curtains just sounds like a bandaid, and this has the potential to ramp up. How should I address this with the administration??
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Talk to the director, and insist she call the police. If she doesn't, I would call myself. Don't mess around with safety of children.
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Scary! I would also insist they call the police!
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I agree with the others about calling the police - that's terrifying!
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I would be angry and nervous too! I find it bizarre that the director/owner isn’t being more proactive about this.
Closing shades is not being proactive; it’s being passive and allowing this woman’s behavior to continue and potentially to escalate. They need to call the police and get them involved, especially if she is taking pictures of children and acting aggressively towards them. Also, she’s trespassing on the daycare property in order to take these pictures, right? Why aren’t they pursuing a no-trespass order or similar?
They also should put up a fence for privacy.Honestly, the lack of response by your daycare would worry me just as much as this woman’s behavior.
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Yeah I can't think of a single reason not to call the police. I would not be happy if the director hadn't already done this. Getting blinds, etc is not going to help and would not satisfy me that the daycare was doing anything about the situation..
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Ok, so I called the director and the police are involved. They spoke to the woman last night and she denied the behaviors. So the police told daycare to start building their case - every time she is out there, harassing anyone, on their property, etc, they are to call the police. So since she was out there this morning, they called and the officer she spoke to this morning is meeting with the officer who was out last night and they are coming up with a game plan of how to address this. They are also working on a way to address this with the parents, because they don't want to create a panic, but they do want parents to be aware and to report any suspicious/harassing behavior.
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@littlebug: Gosh how scary is this? I'm glad that the police are involved and they're doing their best to build a case. Is it possible for the day care to get cameras in the front of the day care so that it can record her behavior and they can use it as proof against her? Gah...what an awful situation to be in.
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@littlebug: scary! Does the daycare have cameras on the outside perimeter?
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@2PeasinaPod: @Anagram: They do have cameras, but I dont think around the perimeter of the building. I think there are some that show the front doors, some in the (privacy-fenced-in) playground, and then in the classrooms. But I don't believe there are any that focus on the side of the building where the infant and 2s room is (which is the side that faces her home).
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@littlebug: Well, I'm glad the police are involved. Hopefully they will start monitoring the situation closely and maybe even do frequent drive-bys to show their presence.
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I'm glad the police are involved and they're working to address this with the parents.
I will say, I don't believe taking pictures is illegal. It sounds like she's trespassing while doing it, which is illegal. And harassing people for parking in a public spot could be illegal, depending on how aggressive she's being. But in the US you can take pictures of whatever you want in public (there are some specific laws about things like bathrooms/locker rooms). And the picture is the property of the person who took the picture, not the person in the picture.
Still super annoying and inappropriate, but I hope they're able to build a case against her and get her to stop!
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@littlebug: Perhaps you could suggest a camera to be installed on her side of the day care. That might deter her from taking pictures. It will capture her trespassing on the property. They could also post a sign that says "no trespassing" on that side of the building to show that she is doing something illegal.
Do you think any of the parents who have been harassed would be willing to file a complaint with police? The more they have on her, the better.
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@JenGirl: Yeah, I wasn't clear on the laws. I atually looked them up. Apparently, it's legal to take photos of people in public spaces, but not sure where the line is between public and private space. To me, within the walls of a private daycare means that's private space, and seems like it would be illegal to me. But I don't know that for sure. It's fuzzy. And yes, definitely trespassing, which I think is what the police are going after. I'm hoping the director is still in this afternoon when I get there so I can get an update.
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Wow. Glad the police are involved. And no it is not legal to take pictures through windows into a private business or home. She's basically a peeping Tom! So creepy.
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So you mentioned parking in front of her house? Is she maybe disgruntled about that? I know over time people get annoyed with tires on the grass, etc. I think that would be an easy solution for the daycare to try to put a stop to that. Maybe a person to help make drop offs go faster so there is more parking or something like that.
Not saying that what she's doing is ok no matter what the reason, but just another perspective.
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@JenGirl: even if the people being photographed are minors?
I hope this gets resolved, goodness, what an awkward situation!
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We have someone like this by LO's school. She stands in her window staring at everyone that passes and comes out to yell at you if you park in front of her house or stay chatting on the sidewalk with someone in front of her house. We think she has some sort of mental issues and we've talked to police and they weren't able to do much other than let her know that anyone can park on a public street and stand on a public sidewalk. We are lucky that she isn't taking photos at least. What if your daycare started taking photos of her when she tries to do it, maybe it would scare her off?
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@looch: Correct. Not illegal to take pictures of children in public places. Think about paparazzi and celebrities's kiddos.
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@JenGirl: True, true...which is why I stopped subscribing to publications that use pap photos.
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Sorry if I missed this, but what is the security of the school like? Locks/keypad on the doors? Our LO's school is in a house (that's only used as a daycare, no one lives there) in the middle of a neighborhood. One of my biggest fears is a mentally unstable person entering the school during the day. They have a keypad (with deadbolt) to access the doors, which makes me feel safer.
I'm glad the police are involved. That is scary!!
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Thats scary! What kinds of security does your daycare have? My daughters had a gate around the whole perimeter and a keypad so no one could get back to the doors or windows of their rooms except staff and parents. If there is no secure way to keep outsiders away from the rooms I would request the hire a security guard until they resolve this issue.
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